Customer Reviews:
Photos.......2007-05-07
As with everything else from this author, it is just a collection of pretty pictures, with absolutely no detail on materials and construction techniques. There is a reason his books are so cheap.
Let me be the devil's advocate.......2005-04-24
The purpose of my review is to share my comments about this book so that potentail readers could have a balanced view. I also picked up this book at Borders. Fortunately, I did not have to unwrap it...
There are tons of books on modern residential architecture published in recent years. And I (probably you too) have already read quite a few of them. When thinking about getting a new book on the same topic, the key questions we shall all think about are:
What's new in this book? What makes this book different from those I have already read? What does this book add to my collection? What's the unique contribution? What do I learn from this book over and beyond all others?
Unfortunately, this book provides weak answers to these questions. In general, the majority of the houses featured in this book are redundant, uninspiring, and boring. One exception is the SOMA house. There are not many creative ideas in these design. Moderism in architecture is not simply equal to having large glazed windows or using some industrial-flavored materials like concrete. It's a philosophy and life style. It's about innovation and exploration. Many projects selected in this book lack this underlying core. These buildings are just traditional ranch houses with a pseudo-modern apperance.
From a practical standpoint, though some minimalist, bold, and avant-garde houses seem to be "unlivable", clever thinkers can always transform those "unrealistic" elements into feasible design which fits everyday living condition. That's the excitement about architecture and designing: experimentation, creation, and interpretation.
For some good references, check out a book called "Stunning Houses" for high quality and livable modern residential projects. If you want some intellectual stimulation, try "Architecture Now 3" published by Taschen and "XS : Big Ideas in Small-Scale Building". You'll know what I am talking about.
Despite the critiques, this book does have some strengths (also discussed by another reviewer Conan). The text is really detailed. You can also find detailed floor plans and other technical drawings. And I LOVE those beautiful pictures.
In conclusion, this book is mediocre comparing with other books on the same topic. I suggest you borrow a copy from a library or just skim through it in a book store. Considering its price, it is not a wise investment.
GREAT resource for contemporary residential design ideas!.......2004-12-12
I picked this book up at a local Borders bookstore. It was pretty expensive and wrapped in cellophane so you couldn't read it before buying. Well, I confess I unwrapped it while hiding behind a bookshelf because I refused to fork over ~$50 without at least browsing through a pricey and unfamiliar book.
Anyway, after perusing just the first half of this substantial book, I was SOLD. I have been hunting through book after book after book for really good and useful ideas on residential contemporary home design (I have a 15 wooded acre lot I'm planning on building on soon). So many of the books I looked at lacked any real, meat and potatoes/useful detail, and/or they emphasized large commercial structures and/or they went on about these trendy, vague, completely unrealistic notions concerning design (like some guy living in a cardboard box with a toilet). Other books on "minimalism" (a stark, modernistic style) were intriguing and interesting, but really in the end...were completely unrealistic. I mean, where am I supposed to keep my "SCHTUFF???" (yeah, I know, I'm one of those shallow, bourgeois, materialistic Westerners).
Other modern architecture books usually provide just a few flashy pictures and some unspecific/unclear, artsy fartsy double talk/new agey bs description of some millionaire's home in southern California. C'mon, not really useful for a Joe Blow like me who needs some real ideas and a much more fleshed out description of how these houses are designed and built.
Well, this book is not like that. Don't get me wrong, it is a thick, sophisticated and richly detailed book. And although most of the homes in it are also the very expensive "millionaire homes", there are also some more modest homes included as well. Plus, and more importantly, they really devote a full dossier of technical information and a beautiful exterior and interior photographic outlay of each home (in full glorious color). And even with the expensive homes, many of the design elements can still be transcribed and adapted to a more modest home (within reason of course). They also include site plans for each home and plenty of details concerning the construction and design strategies. A decently fleshed out documentary that you can really sink your teeth into - something you can actually use to learn more about new, cutting edge designs and to stimulate thought and creative brainstorming for your own house...which is just what I was looking for!
Sometimes books are wrapped in cellophane at the bookstore to prevent a potential buyer from seeing how pretentious, overpriced and overrated a book is before buying it...but this is NOT one of those books. If you want to learn more about modern residential home design, then I couldn't recommend this book more!
Average customer rating:
- Amazing Visuals, Informative Text!
- Another Gee's Bend book
- An exciting look at quilts as modern art
- Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt by Paul Arnett, William Arnett
- A great book on a legendary art
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Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
Paul Arnett ,
William Arnett ,
Bernard Herman ,
Maggi Gordon ,
Diane Mott ,
Dilys Blum ,
Lauren Whitley ,
Amei Wallach , and
Joanne Cubbs
Manufacturer: Tinwood Books
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Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place
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The Quilts of Gee's Bend: 30 Postcards
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Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee's Bend Quilts, and Beyond
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Nancy Crow
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Quilt National 2007: The Best of Contemporary Quilts (Quilt National)
ASIN: 0971910456 |
Book Description
In 2002, Gee’s Bend burst into international prominence through the success of Tinwood’s Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibition and book, which revealed an important and previously invisible art tradition from the African American South. Critics and popular audiences alike marveled at these quilts that combined the best of contemporary design with a deeply rooted ethnic heritage and compelling human stories about the women. Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt is a major book and museum exhibition that will premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), in June 2006 before traveling to seven American museums through 2008. The book's 330 color illustrations and insightful text bring home the exciting experience to readers while displaying all the cultural heritage and craftsmanship that have gone into these remarkable quilts.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Visuals, Informative Text!.......2007-09-17
This book is gorgeous!!! It includes large photographs of tons of quilts, in a size that allows you to see the smallest details, such as topstitching. It also includes inspirational photos of details of the town. However, it's not your typical coffe table book, because it has probably equal parts very informative text and visuals. Since it's not small enough to carry with me on the train, it's been hard separating myself from this book-- it is beautiful!
Another Gee's Bend book.......2007-05-13
I like this book because it is full of information about the construction of the quilts and alot of trivia about the makers of the quilts. Very beautiful pictures! A great book for learning.
An exciting look at quilts as modern art.......2007-02-08
This book illustrates the link between the incredibly beautiful quilts produced by five generations of African American women in the South to the architecture they saw around them and to their own artistic vision. Their personal stories, contained in chapters toward the end of the book, are very moving and inspirational.
Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt by Paul Arnett, William Arnett .......2007-01-12
Wonderful book full of pictures and inspiration, and the story of the Gees Bend Quilts.
A great book on a legendary art.......2007-01-04
This book shows the Gees Bend quilts in all their gorgeous and unself-conscious art, as well as telling the story of these women, descended from slaves in an isolated community, who created this amazing abstract art. A wonderful book, with many color photos of the quilts.
Book Description
Since the 19th century, the women of Gee’s Bend in southern Alabama have created stunning, vibrant quilts. Beautifully illustrated with 110 color illustrations, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend includes a historical overview of the two hundred years of extraordinary quilt-making in this African-American community, its people, and their art-making tradition. This book is being·released in conjunction with a national exhibition tour including The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Customer Reviews:
exceptional.......2007-03-30
I remember the first time I saw photographs of the quilts of Gee's Bend in a magazine about seven years ago. I couldn't wait to learn about the amazing artists whose vision the quilts portray. This book is more outstanding than I imagined it could be. It is powerful, beautiful, sensitive, and historically accurate. I recommend The Quilts of Gee's Bend to anyone with an eye for artistic genius and a love for discovering a community of women willing to express themselves outside the box of convention. How refreshing and inspiring! Simply Exceptional!!
.........a superb keepsake of a memorable trip. .......2007-03-08
Who is more qualified to help provide us with a book about the quilts of Gee's Bend, but Mr. Bill Arnett who has championed the makers of these quilts and their works since 'discovering' them years ago in the tiny community of Gee's Bend about thirty miles southwest of Selma, Alabama?
The quilts first went on tour in 2002 and have been touring ever since. I learned of the ladies of Gee's Bend and their quilts from a PBS documentary first aired in 2003 and have anxiously hoped they would one day come to my part of the country. When, earlier this year, I found the quilts would indeed be coming to the Orlando Museum of Art, I purchased, The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, documenting the quilts, and the lives of their various makers, with beautiful, full-color illustrations of the quilts.
In February, 2007, when I was finally able to enjoy the quilts in person, I was happy to discover the book had accurately depicted the quilts, and their makers, paralleling an exhibition that should be seen and appreciated by all.
I purchased a copy of The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, for the art teacher of my children's school. This beautiful book encouraged her to take her middle and high school art students to the exhibition. The book helped the students to first see and read about what they were going to view and then became a superb keepsake of a most memorable trip.
The Quilts of Gee's Bend.......2007-03-08
This is a beautiful book about both the women and the quilts of Gee's Bend. The photos make me feel as if I am back at the Gee's Bend Quilt Show.
Memories which must be kept 'real'.......2007-03-08
This book is already a treasure and one I can love and then bequeath to another art and tradition and people lover...
At the end of October in 2003, I was in Milwaukee to see this Quilt exhibition. Friends of Art from Indiana University drove to Chicago and then on to the marvelous museum in Milwaukee to experience the Quilts. What an awakening! That day I bought a Video. Since that time I have purchased the DVD and (when I found it online) the hardback book The Quilts of Gee's Bend! What a treasure! I am overjoyed to have this book and to have had the viewing experience! [I also use the USPS stamps and the book of postcards!] --Sarah K. Robinson
The Heart and Souls...........2007-01-27
The heart and souls of women are exposed in this poignant book of quilts, along with their "stories" past and present---of slavery on through the civil rights era, and now, life as it is in rural Alabama. The quilts, made out of necessity for their warmth, have become acclaimed Objects d' Art throughout the Art World. Having seen the documentary on television and the Quilt exhibit in San Francisco, I was compelled to purchase this beautiful book containing a compilation of these quilts and self-expressed comments from the community of women who have kept their quilt-making alive. I have purchased this book for myself and several others as gifts.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome .......2007-05-13
Excellent color and quality -- a great way to correspond with a quilt-loving or history-loving friend.
Gee's Bend Cards.......2007-01-03
Having visited the actual display, these cards are gorgeous! They're almost too nice to send!
Book Description
Mary Lee Bendolph’s extraordinary patchworks garnered national attention when they were featured among the works of other quiltmakers from her tiny, predominately African American community in the 2002 blockbuster exhibition and book, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend. This beautiful book examines Bendolph’s inspiration, creative process, and individual genius, as well as her profound connection to the cultural practices and expressive traditions out of which her work arises. It studies her artistic relationships with other artists — her mother, Aolar Mosely; her daughter, Essie Bendolph Pettway; her daughter-in-law Louisiana P. Bendolph; and two self-taught Alabama artists, Lonnie Holley and Thornton Dial. Bendolph’s conception of herself as an artist is intimately connected to all of these aesthetic relationships, which together provide contexts for understanding the full scope and power of her work. As they intersect in Bendolph’s life and art, these deep social and aesthetic networks give rise to new pathways of artistic influence and exchange, to a body of work that is a powerful mixture of communal and individual creative energies.
Book Description
Five quilts created by the women of Gee's Bend, a small African American community in Alabama, whose work is acclaimed for its outstanding artistic achievement. Twenty 5 x 7 in. cards (four cards each of five images) with envelopes in an imprinted box.
Customer Reviews:
Gees Bend Notecards.......2005-07-20
These cards are beautiful and they came in a timely manner.
I am truly enjoying them!
Book Description
Since the 19th century, the women of Gee's Bend in southern Alabama have created stunning, vibrant quilts. Beautifully illustrated with 350 color illustrations, 30 black-and-white illustrations, and charts, Gee's Bend to Rehoboth is being·released in conjunction with a national exhibition tour including The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Customer Reviews:
Get this book if you can........2004-07-21
The Quilt's of Gee's Bend exhibit was at the Corcoran in Washington DC earlier this year. I went 3 times with different people. Enjoyed each visit like it was the first! I saw the book then, but I am buying it now. It is informative and inspirational (my mother and I are working on our first quilt together and have others planned). The book has so many examples of the fine workmanship and talent and beauty that grew out of their necessity. Get this book! If you're luck enough to go to the exhibit - do it! - at least once!
Read about this in Country Home magazine........2003-12-06
I believe Country Home wrote an article about these woman and pictured them and some of the quilts. I found it fascinating! It made me thankful for what I've got and showed me that beauty is everywhere -- its just a matter of how you interpret the world around you. Erin
more than a coffee table book.......2003-05-11
The Quilts of Gee;s Bend is much more than a beautiful coffee table book. It is that, too, of course. The book is filled with social history of this small place near Selma, Alabama. I've been lucky enough to visit Gee's Bend and see the quilt-making process. The Whitney Museum exhibit must have been wonderful. Sunday Morning on CBS did a story on the exhibit. The quilters traveled to New York for the opening and entertained the guests with their singing. That's what Gee's Bend is like: A rich yet poor stop on the road where women made the best of what they had and turned out great art in the process.
A Must Have.......2002-12-15
I have seen the exhibition of the Gee's Bend quilts at the Whitney museum three times. The quilts of Gee's Bend are simple, graphic, and stunning. Although I own the smaller of the Gee's Bend quilt books and the video about the quiltmakers, I find that I want to know and see much more. I have thumbed through this book at the museum and am delighted that it is full of lush photographs of so many more quilts. At the top of my holiday list of things I must have, is this, the larger of the Gee's Bend quilt books.
Book Description
Twenty-five different quilts by the women of Gee's Bend, a small African American community in Alabama, whose work is acclaimed for its outstanding artistic achievement. 4 1/4 x 6 in. postcards in an imprinted box.
Book Description
The Quilter's Companion is a pocket-sized hardcover notebook for anyone who loves needlework. It offers 180 lined pages divided by 6 colorful, subject-specific tabs; Planning, Design, Patterns, Collecting, Care and Projects. This notebook also features a brief description of the Gees Bend quilts that are pictured, nameplate and zippered pocket for easy storage of color swatches, dye lot labels or receipts.
Customer Reviews:
POCKET SIZE QUILTERS COMPANION.......2005-08-03
OF NO USE TO ME .......A WASTE OF MONEY...LOVE THE QUILTS ... CAMPANIAN BOOK OF NO USE TO ME.....THANK YOU JOAN
Average customer rating:
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The Quilts of Gee'd Bend.(Learning from Exhibitions): An article from: Arts & Activities
Mark M. Johnson
Manufacturer: Publishers' Development Corporation
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Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B0008G9F7U
Release Date: 2005-07-31 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Arts & Activities, published by Publishers' Development Corporation on December 1, 2003. The length of the article is 940 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Quilts of Gee'd Bend.(Learning from Exhibitions)
Author: Mark M. Johnson
Publication:
Arts & Activities (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2003
Publisher: Publishers' Development Corporation
Volume: 134
Issue: 4
Page: 31(3)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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